GEN News Highlights

BioServe, Harvard, and University of Michigan to Determine Link Between Genetics and Lead Exposure

(Page
1
of
1)

BioServe, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health will work together to understand how genetics and environmental lead pollution interact to affect children’s intellectual and behavioral functioning.

Under terms of the agreement, BioServe will perform DNA purification and genotyping on tissue samples collected from 750 school children in Chennai, India who have been exposed to lead pollutants. The goal is to help the investigators determine whether genetic factors predispose children to or protect them from certain toxic effects.

Although it is well-known that high lead levels in the body can negatively affect intelligence, this is the first study in India to measure that effect. The study will also measure how lead exposure affects both visual-spatial-motor skills and aggressive behavior as well as how individual genetic makeup may modify the neurobehavioral impact of lead exposure.

“India and other countries are undergoing rapid urbanization, population shifts to cities, industrialization, and a steep increase in the use of fossil fuels for energy and transportation. But population exposures to newer pollution hazards remain understudied,” explains Howard Hu M.D., the principle investigator, chair and professor in the department of environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and adjunct professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the Harvard School of Public Health. “Understanding the interrelationship of environmental hazards, genetics, and health will provide the information that is needed to formulate regulatory policies, prioritize public health controls, and educate the medical community and the public on how best to mitigate particular environmental exposures.

“Progress on these fronts,” adds Dr. Hu, “would be slow or impossible without public/private partnerships like the one involving Harvard, the University of Michigan, and Bioserve.”

Jobs

GEN Jobs powered by HireLifeScience.com connects you directly to employers in pharma, biotech, and the life sciences. View 40 to 50 fresh job postings daily or search for employment opportunities including those in R&D, clinical research, QA/QC, biomanufacturing, and regulatory affairs.

GEN Poll

Secure Science

Should bans on science education, of the sort imposed on Iranians hoping to study physics and engineering in the United States, encompass other nationals and other fields of study, including biotechnology?

No. Such bans could easily get out of control, preventing the sharing and growth of knowledge.

Yes. The potential, for example, for the development of bioweapons if biotech information gets into the wrong hands must be minimized.

No. Such bans could easily get out of control, preventing the sharing and growth of knowledge.

57.3%

Yes. The potential, for example, for the development of bioweapons if biotech information gets into the wrong hands must be minimized.

If you have any questions about your subscription, click
hereto email us or call at (914) 740-2189.

You may also be interested in subscribing to the GEN magazine, an indispensable
resource for everyone involved in the business of translating discoveries at the
bench into solutions that fight disease and improve health, agriculture, and the
environment. Subscribe
today to see why over 60,000 biotech professionals read GEN to
keep current in the areas of genomics, proteomics, drug discovery, biomarker discovery,
bioprocessing, molecular diagnostics, collaborations, biotech business trends, and
more.